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OH NO: Your mascara – it’s clumping – it’s dry- and YES this is the only bottle you have on hand. What will you do? YOU WILL NOT FREAK OUT or use this clumpy-product. What you will do is fix it.

I have two favorite ways to fix it. One con with both quick fixes is that the mascara tends to sweat a little more than usual (atleast for me) and with the coconut oil I seem to get a softer lash – but I end up seeing tiny particles of the product sprinkled around my check (sometimes).

CONTACT SOLUTION / EYE DROPS:

Warning DO NOT USE: hydrogen peroxide care systems, such as CLEAR CARE® Cleaning & Disinfecting Solution, or any sort of generic brand. IT WILL STING YOUR EYE AND CAUSE OTHER ISSUES (frankly, all I know is something horrible will happen: so DO NOT do it!!)

But you can use your regular run of the mill contact solution.

Add in a drop or two of the solution into the tube then mix it and move the wand around in it and you should get a consistency of mascara that is not clumpy. Instead of contact solution you could also use eye drops to do the trick as well.

COCONUT OIL:

I secretly love the coconut oil method. As stated above I get softer lashes and the product in my mind seems “richer” and just better. Obviously, only put a little bit of coconut oil in the tube and then just swoosh it around. Adding a little bit of coconut oil will allow you to probably use your tube of mascara for another 4-6 days. If you’re wondering how you can use this tip in the winter when coconut oil is in a thicker form: simply take a small glob of it in your hands and it should melt relatively quickly and just funnel it in to your tube!

As most of you know, I LOVE TO COOK. I should have gone to culinary school, as opposed to law school, because I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH. I was talking to my best friend the other day (she is in medical school) and we spoke of dream careers, as opposed to the ones we are in right now, and hers was MAKE UP ARTIST (“MUA”) (and boy, oh boy, is she fierce with her brushes), and mine was a mix between Food Network/ Cooking Channel Program host and some sort of part time MUA/hairstylist (I didn’t word it this way, but I’m sure my best friend caught on).

I’ve decided to start a series on my blog where I talk about dinners I’m making while studying for the GA Bar. I can’t post as regularly as I would like, but I will try to post once a week!

This is a great marinade for any 4th of July weekend BBQ’s you may have planned. I promise – you will love this marinade – and you will make it again and again and again.

I’ve now made this marinade twice and the portions listed work well for 2 lbs of flank steak!

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons parsley, finely minced

2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 tablespoons ginger paste

1 tablespoon oregano

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1/2 teaspoon coffee grounds

Sally just whisked all of this together, while on the other hand, I just threw all of the ingredients in the magic bullet. I loved putting in the magic bullet because I got a finer grain as far as a marinade goes and I smothered the meat in this marinade for approximately 24-26 hours.

A few little side notes:

I had the 2 lb flank steak cut into two 1 lb pieces, prior to putting it in the marinade. Then I grilled it on each side for about 4 -5 minutes (medium cooked steak).

After removing the beautiful pieces of flank steak from the grill, I transferred them to a cutting board and placed a piece of aluminum foil over the meat (just place it on top) and let the meat REST for 10 minutes. You want to let the cooked meat rest, so that the flavors of the marinade settle in the meat– if you cut the meat to early, you’ll notice that all of the great flavor will just spew out of the meat.

After 10 minutes, cut the meat against the grain! Look at the meat –see those fine little lines, you want to cut slices that are perpendicular to those little lines! Voila – you’re cutting it against the grain!

I served it with the Akhtar family’s favorite potatoes and coleslaw, corn on the cob, & (not shown-and I cheated a little bit) a Trader Joe’s frozen Mac n’ Cheese. Lets face it- a BBQ is only as good as its sides – so make your favorite sides!

ONE MORE LITTLE NOTE:

I would TOTALLY make an extra pound of meat, so that you can enjoy a skirt steak salad, or a nice sandwich (like I did).

I hope you have a wonderful and safe Fourth of July! What are you planning on grilling — I would LOVE to know (and maybe I’ll add it to my Fourth of July menu).